★★★| American | Ithaca Commons | $30-40

Article By: Parker Piccolo Hill
Photos By: Laura Wu

Revelry Yards, a new restaurant project by the owner of Jack’s Grill and Luna Inspired Street Food, has been marketing itself as “Ithaca’s newest hotspot” since its opening in September 2022. Crème decided to test this claim, ranking the restaurant in four categories: atmosphere, food, service, and value.

ATMOSPHERE: 6/10

I went into Revelry Yards blind - partly because I hadn’t looked at the menu prior to going to the newly opened restaurant, and partly because the lighting in the restaurant is so dim.

For any other restaurant, this would be a complete turn-off. However, the dark yellow lighting actually made the restaurant’s industrial metal, brick, and dark wood interior look inviting, and sliding into a booth, it was easy to see that people were enjoying the murky vibes. Inside, there’s plenty of chatter and buzz, with people leaning in close to hear what their dates have to say. Out on the sidewalk seating, people bundle up and dig into the platters of food being carried out by a seemingly endless stream of waiters. The crowd definitely seemed to skew older, perhaps because of price, or perhaps because of the lack of appeal a microbrewery has for underage college students.

That said, I’d rate the atmosphere a 6 out of 10 — two points off for the ten times I had to repeat myself, and another two off for my pair of eyes that had to strain while trying to read the menu.

FOOD: 6/10

Pan-roasted Chicken, Calamari, and Burrata

Revelry Yards prides itself on its sharing menu, offering a large assortment of dishes. We tried two of their sharing dishes, the tomato burrata and the corn flour calamari, along with one of the Chef’s Features, the pan-roasted chicken. For drinks, we ordered (virgin) mules.

The burrata was definitely the standout dish of the night — the sweet tomato marmalade accentuated the sharp bitterness of the arugula and the creaminess of burrata. The marmalade was a funky twist on a traditional pairing of tomatoes, arugula, and burrata, and it added real depth to those classic flavors.

The calamari, listed on the menu as coming with a Calabrian chile aioli and lemon, attempted to do a similar thing, but didn’t pull off the twist as well. The slightly sweet sauce that came with the calamari didn’t mesh well with the other flavors, and distracted from the actual crispiness of the calamari themselves. However, the calamari were fried to a satisfying level of crunch, and the tartness of the lemon juice was a nice touch.

The menu outside of the sharing dishes (besides a few standouts, such as the delicious udon noodles) seemed to be mainly simple variations on pub fare. For more of the experimental and less of that elevated pub fare, I’d recommend staying in the sharing section.

SERVICE: 9

The real standout at Revelry Yards was the excellent service. Waiters were attentive, and invested in the satisfaction of their customers. When prompted for recommendations, our waiter (shout out Jack!) gave us some excellent selections, and was very considerate of our photography needs. Although, I should note, in revealing our “reviewer” status, we were perhaps treated better. And sure, we got some curious glances as we flagged down every waiter passing by to take pictures of whatever dish they were holding, but they were very accommodating, and it paid off! We got to taste (with our eyes at least) almost every dish they had. The only issue here was there was a bit of a wait for food, despite the restaurant not being super crowded.

VALUE: 4/10

Revelry Yards seems to fall prey to the idea that “elevated” foods have to be expensive. The Chef’s Feature of pan roasted chicken, which is listed on the menu for a whopping $28, turned out to be a single scrawny chicken wing on a bed of vegetables. Instead of a side of vegetables, it was vegetables with a side of chicken! The seasoning and cooking on the dish was perfect, but for what we paid, it didn’t seem worth it. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced, yet interesting meal, I’d stick to their sharing dishes, because the value there is more in line with what you get.

The price range is $6 - $38, with most dishes on the higher end of that spectrum.

TOTAL RATING: 25/40

Revelry Yards is definitely worth a trip, but I doubt it’ll become the first place to come to mind when someone asks me to recommend them a dinner restaurant. However, I do look forward to checking out their patio space, The Yards, when weather permits.